OK I have been away for a few days and am now going to try and get caught up. With all of the talk about Ford and Chevy engines and what is best lets just say they all ahve their place. I do not want to make anyone mad here but to just talk about the benefits of different engines and why they could not have built an engine with all of them in it.
The SBC and the BBC has better designed bearings with their small diameter and wider width. Most all race engines use a SBC or BBC rod journal size. They also had a smaller main bearing size as well as a wider cam bearing which carries the load better. The oiling system on the SBC and standard FE are similiar as well as the BBC and the 427 side oiler are similiar. The SBF has a good oiling system from the factory but the 351C and the 385 series have the worst of all. These engines had the main
oil galley also being the lifter galley on the passenger side. The 385 engine had a good bore spacing and stroke combination with large bore. These engines had a 3" which is a litle large for performance engine especially with the stroke they cam with, this is also the same size as the 351W. The rod journal was way to big at 2.500 but did let us stroke the crank by using the BBC 2.200 journal. The blocks had good cylinders but a little weak in the bottem end unless you got a SCJ 4-bolt block. The FE has a better oiling system, smaller main and rod journal size but with a thin wall block and small bore spacing. Why Ford could not get it all right on one engine I do not know. Both the FE and 385 series had to heavy a crank but what are you going to do.
Now I do not know where most people are going to the drag races but they are covered up with BBC engines in most every dragster as well as most cars in Super Comp and Super Gas. When it comes down to it Chevy had a lot of good ideals in both the SBC and the BBC. Like using the same motor mounts and bell housings for easy swapping. Ford has different bell housing on about all of their engines. I see alot more SBF than 385 series engines at the dragstrips where I go. With the introduction of the 82 and later Mustang Ford gained a lot of new customers and SBF followers.
I also feel that the FE is a better indurance engine than the 385 series engine because of the oiling system but the 385 series engine is a better drag race engine because of its design, just have to fix a few things. The canted valve design of the 302B,351C, and the 385 series engines give them a better head. Ford had to go mess up the exhaust ports to make them fit in the Mustang by turning them down. Some of the best SBF heads are still based of the 302B-351C canted valve head. This is also true of the 385 series with the aftermarket heads as well.
So what you have to look at on any engine design is the strong points it has and the weak links that need to be fixed. On most Ford engines it is easy to over power the blocks where as the Chevy blocks will take more HP. None of the SBC heads can compete with the 302B-351C heads but when it comes to the Big Block debate the heads are real close with the Chevy having a better exhaust port. I do not like the short runner/long runner design on the BBC heads. All of the new heads have gone to a symetrical designed port, this true with NASCAR as well as Pro Stock.
So I do not believe their is one engine that is so much better than all of the rest. The amount of technology that has been developed on some of the engines is much better than others. This is one reason the SBC has always been hard to beat. The SBF has made up a lot of head way in the 10 years though.
Like I said before we build them all but you better know the weak points of each or you will have problems with all of them when you start turning them up and making more power.
As far as weight on the engines this has changed quite a bit as well depending on the parts used. We have some SBF engines in all aluminum that weigh as little as 325 pounds. The 385 series aluminum blocks are made by a couple of sources right now with a new company[Eliminator] now making a new 385 series cast iron blocks which we have three of and they are real nice. Ford racing has not made a A-460 racing block in about a year and they do not plan on making any more.
I guess there is all sorts of stuff to talk about hear but a lot of it does not matter to a lot of people as long as they get a nice piece that works. I guess it is kind of like a guy I know, if you ask him what time it is he tells you how to build a watch. Good luck Keith
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